Are catnaps as beneficial as actual sleep?

By Colin Barras

IS IT time to dream up a fresh theory of sleep? We are all familiar with the concept a power nap, but it could be the very process of falling asleep that’s beneficial to the brain. Perhaps sleep itself is a mere side effect.

“A nap of just 10 minutes can reduce drowsiness, even though most models of sleep suggest you need more time to see an effect,” says Derk-Jan Dijk at the University of Surrey, UK. “It’s an anomaly – there is a discrepancy between how much sleep we think we need and the data.”

Now, Olaf …

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